Coin examining device



Feb. 1, 1966 H. F. METHOT COIN EXAMINING DEVICE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 13, 1964 INVENTOR. Hector F 772827101 Feb. 1, 1966 H. F. METHQT 3,232,302

COIN EXAMINING DEVICE Filed May 15. 1964 :5 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR.

Feb. 1, 1966 H. F. METHOT 3,232,302

COIN EXAMINING DEVICE Filed May 15, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR.

Hector F 2726x710:

United States Patent 3,232,302 CORN EXAMINING DEVICE Hector F. Methot, 1930 Waverly Ave., San Jose, Calif. Fiied May 13, 1964, Ser. No. 367,001 3 Claims. (Cl. 133-6) This invention relates to coin collecting and, more particularly, to a means of quickly and carefully examining a plurality of coins.

Coin collectors are frequently faced with the problem of having to examine a plurality of coins submitted to them for possible purchase. Although the examination must necessarily be performed with a reasonable degree of rapidity, care must also be taken to carefully scrutinize each coin. Failure to do so may result in either a valuable coin being overlooked or, in the alternative, the purchase of a worthless coin. The above is clearly indic'ative of a need to have an apparatus for quickly yet carefully examining each coin. Such an apparatus can also contribute substantially to the enjoyment derived from a coin collection by greatly facilitating the procedure of handling each coin. These desirable features have been achieved in a novel manner by the present invention. a

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the present invention to provide an improved coin examining device capable of greatly facilitating the task of examining a plurality of coins.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a coin examining device embodying means for closely scrutinizing both sides of every coin.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a means of illuminating each coin being examined.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a coin examining device embodying means for magnifying the illuminated surface of the coin being examined. e

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means for separating the acceptable coins from the group submitted for examination.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a coin examining device embodying means for collecting the rejected coins for subsequent wrapping.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered in the claims appended hereto.

-The'character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l'is a general perspective view of a coin examining device according to the teaching of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the invention taken along line IIIIII of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a view in end elevation of the inventionwith portions thereof partially broken away for clarity of illustration.

Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein is best shown the general features of the invention, a coin examining device, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown embodying a substantially rectangular base 12. Intermediate supporting standards 14 having angularly-dis' posed portions 16 extend vertically from base 12 and together with rear standards 18, cooperate in supporting a sloping coin selector mechanism generally indicated at 20.

The coin selector mechanism is provided with an out-er housing comprised of upper and lower rectangular plates 22 and 24 held together by means of screws indicated typically at 26. When assembled as shown in the drawice ings, plates 22 and 24 cooperate in providing an inner longitudinal slot 28 within which is slidably mounted a selector member 30. Member 30 is further provided With an integrally fabricated side extension forming an operating handle 32 protruding outwardly through a side slot 34 formed between the edges of plates 22 and 24. In addition, a spring pin 36 is attached to the undersurface of selector member 30 and extends outwardly through a second slot (not shown) similar to slot 34 in lower plate 24. A tension spring 38 is secured at one end to spring .pin 36 and at its other end to a second fixed spring pin 40 secured to plate 24.

Operating handle 32 is opposed by a thumb rest 42 fixed to the edge of upper plate 22 by means of screws 44. With this construction, it can be seen that selector member 30 may be slidably advanced within slot 28 by grasping thumb rest 42 and operating handle 32 between the thumb and index finger and simply squeezing the latter towards the former. This will result in tension spring 38 being extended as spring pin 36 follows member 30 and slides away from fixed pin 59. Consequently, upon release of the operating handle 32, selector member 30 will be returned to its original position under the influence of elongated spring 38.

A tubular coin storage container 46 extends vertically from the coin selector mechanism 20, its lower end in communication through a suitably disposed aperture in upper plate 22 with inner slot 28. Wtih this construction, a plurality of coins to be examined may be deposited at random within container 46. The coins will be aligned within the container with the lowermost coin 48 (see FIG. 3) seated in front of selector member 30 within slot 28. The coin is temporarily prevented from sliding down slot 28 by the retaining action of a small leaf spring 50.

An observation platform generally indicated by the reference numeral 52 is rotatably mounted between the upper ends of vertical support standards 54 by means of a pin 56 and rotatable handle 58. Platform 52 is also provided with a two-part housing comprised of upper and lower substantially flat members 60 and 62 held together by means of screws indicated typically at 64. Upper and lower members 60 and 62, when assembled as shown in the drawings, cooperate to produce an iner slot 66 forming an extension of slot 28 when the platform is rotated into alignment with the coin selector mechanism 2%. Slot 66 terminates at the outside edge of platform 52 in a rectangular coin outlet 68. Aligned coin viewing apertures 70 extend through both uper and lower fiat members 60 and 62 to provide a passageway extending transversely through slot 66.

With this construction, once observation platform 52 is aligned in the same plane with coin selector mechanism 20, selector member 30 is advanced within passageway 28 to force coin 48 past leaf spring 50. Having passed spring 50, the coin will continue to advance under the influence of selector member 30 until it is ejected from passageway 28 into passageway 66 extending through observation platform 52. Once handle 32 is released, selector member 30 will immediately be retracted under the influence of spring 38, with another coin falling into place within slot 28 from coin storage container 46.

As a coin arrives within slot 66 in observation platform 52, its periphery is engaged by three wheels indicated in the drawings by the reference numerals 72, 74, and 76. Wheels 72 and 74 are rotatable on fixed axes comprising the intermediate portions of retaining screws 64. Wheel 76 is rotatably mounted within a slidable hub 77 on the end of handle 58, the hub being spring loaded by means of spring 78 to slide within a transversely disposed slot 89 in upper member 62. Thus, it can be seen that as a coin 3 arrives in line with the coin viewing apertures 70, its peripheral edge will force wheel 76 away from wheels 72 and 74 and result in a partial compression of spring 73. With this arrangement, the coin will be securely held in place within observation platform 52 for subsequent examination.

The coin retained within observation platform 52 will be illuminated on one side by means of a light source, herein shown for purposes of illustration in the form of a battery-powered fiashlight 82 mounted on coin storage container 46 by means of a clip-bracket 84. Light 82 is provided with a switch 86 conveniently positioned for easy operation. It should, of course, be understood that any light source can be substituted for the flashlight herein illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The illuminated side of the coin positioned within the viewing aperture 70 in observation platform 52 is magnified by means of a magnifying glass 88 slidably mounted on a rod 90. By loosening threaded pin 94 having a knurled head 92, the glass can be moved towards or away from the illuminated coin to achieve the proper focus.

As can be best seen in FIG. 3, the coin retained within observation platform 52 may be rotated within its own plane by manually rotating either wheel 72 or 74. This arrangement allows the illuminated side of the coin to be examined from any angle. Moreover, once one side of the coin has been carefully examined, the other side can be viewed by simply rotating the knurled head 96 of rotatable handle 58. This will cause the entire platform 52 to rotate about the aligned axes of both pin 56 and handle 58 and result in the opposite side of the coin being illuminated and magnified.

Spaced below observation platform 52 is an underlying horizontal surface 98 supported by front legs 100 and support standards 14 and 54. Extending through surface 98 and aligned axially with the coin viewing apertures 70 in observation platform 52 is an accept aperture 102. An accept trough 104 depends from surface 98 and extends laterally to the side of the apparatus. In addition, surf-ace 98 is further provided with a second aperture containing a vertically disposed removable reject cylinder 106 removably mounted on base 12. The mouth of cylinder 106 is aligned directly below the coin outlet 68 in observation platform 52.

With this arrangement, once the coin collector has examined both sides of the coin and arrived at a decision regarding its acceptability, he may do either of the following: If the coin is acceptable, knurled head 96 of handle 58 may be grasped and pulled outwardly. This will further compress spring 78 and cause wheel 76 to move away from wheels 72 and 74. By so doing, the combined retaining action of wheels 72, 74 and 76 is broken and the coin allowed to fall through both the lower viewing aperture 70 and aperture 102 in underlying surface 98. The acceptable coin is then subsequently carried by accept trough 104 to the side of the apparatus.

If the coin is not acceptable, the coin selector mechanism is simply actuated to advance another coin into platform 52. The incoming coin will push the coin already retained within the observation platform 52 through coin outlet 68 where it will fall into reject cylinder 106. Having examined the entire group of coins, the collector can then retrieve the acceptable coins from the side of the apparatus where they have been deposited by the accept trough. The coins which are not acceptable can be taken from reject cylinder 106 and wrapped for return to the seller.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and constructionof the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for individually examining a plurality of coins comprising the combination of: a coin receptacle for containing said coins, an observation platform having upper and lower wall members forming a coin receiving passageway extending therebetween, viewing apertures in said wall members for viewing both sides of a coin contained within said passageway, coin selector means for advancing individual coins from said coin receptacle to an exposed position within said passageway between said viewing apertures, illuminating means for illuminating one side of a coin exposed between said viewing apertures, means for magnifying the illuminated side of said coin, means for rotating said coin within said passageway in order to carefully examine the illuminated side of said coin, means for rotating said observation platform in order to expose the opposite side of said coin to said light source, means for removing acceptable coins from said passageway, and means for discharging unacceptable coins from said passageway.

2. A device for individually examining a plurality of coins, comprising the combination of: a coin receptacle for containing said coins, an observation platform having upper and lower wall members forming a coin-receiving passageway extending therebetween, viewing apertures in said wall members for viewing both sides of a coin containedwithin said passageway, coin selector means for advancing individual coins from said coin receptacle to an exposed position within said passageway between said viewing apertures, illuminating means for illuminating one side ofa coinexposed between said viewing apertures, means for magnifying the illuminated side of said coin, means for rotating said coin within said passageway in order to carefully examine the illuminated side of said coin, and means for rotating said observation platform in order to expose the opposite side of said coin to said light source.

3. A device for individually examining a plurality of coins, comprising the combination of: a coin receptacle for containing said coins, an observation platform having upper and lower wall members forming a coin-receiving passageway extending therebetween, viewing apertures in said wall members for viewing both sides of a coin contained within said passageway, coin selector means for advancing individual coins from said coin receptacle to an exposed position within said passageway between said viewing apertures, illuminating means for illuminating one side of a coin exposed between said viewing apertures, means for magnifying the illuminated side of said coin, means for rotating said observation platform in order to expose the opposite side of said coin to said light source, means for removing acceptable coins from said passageway, and means for discharging unacceptable coins from said passageway.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,040,617 6/1962 Rankin 133-5 X 3,047,124 7/1962 Wexler 133-1 X LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. S. TOLLBERG, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR INDIVIDUALLY EXAMINING A PLURALITY OF COINS COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF: A COIN RECEPTACLE FOR CONTAINING SAID COINS, AN OBSERVATION PLATFORM HAVING UPPER AND LOWER WALL MEMBERS FORMING A COIN RECEIVING PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN, VIEWING APERTURES IN SAID WALL MEMBERS FOR VIEWING BOTH SIDES OF A COIN CONTAINED WITHIN SAID PASSAGEWAY, COIN SELECTOR MEANS FOR ADVANCING INDIVIDUAL COINS FROM SAID COIN RECEPTACLE TO AN EXPOSED POSITION WITHIN SAID PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID VIEWING APERTURES, ILLUMINATING MEANS FOR ILLUMINATING ONE SIDE OF A COIN EXPOSED BETWEEN SAID VIEWING APERTURES, MEANS FOR MAGNIFYING THE ILLUMINATED SIDE OF SAID COIN, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID COIN WITHIN SAID PASSAGEWAY IN ORDER TO CAREFULLY EXAMINE THE ILLUMINATED SIDE OF SAID COIN, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID OBSERVATION PLATFORM IN ORDER TO EXPOSE THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID COIN TO SAID LIGHT SOURCE, MEANS FOR REMOVING ACCEPTABLE COINS FROM SAID PASSAGEWAY, AND MEANS FOR DISCHARGING UNACCEPTABLE COINS FROM SAID PASSAGEWAY. 